Starlight
by worldfantasygirl
Summary: Carrion ends up in the Hereafter, at the mercy of a young girl, Silena, who lost everything in the Chickentown flood but found something she never expected.
1. Chapter 1 Aftermath

**Okay, so here is my first fic, if the layout is funky or something like that, please don't be too harsh. Rated T just in case. Post Days of magic, Nights of war, so spoilers from both books.**

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Starlight

Chapter 1: Aftermath

Silence. All Silena could hear after the floodwaters from some unknown place had retreated was an eerie calm. Standing on the roof of her apartment building in Chickentown, was debris from all the houses in town deposited in a jumbled heap. This disaster had shocked her deeply. Life had been so ordinary until now : working at a clothing store, movie nights with friends and shopping at the tiny Chickentown mall. Now all that was gone, and who knew what life had in store for her, now that normal life didn't seem to matter anymore.

Her blue kept scanning the strange landscape. Silena's black shoulder length hair blew in her face on a wind that vaguely smelled of the sea. She had seen the floodwaters invade, quickly running up the fire escape stairs to the roof. Silena had gazed at alien looking fish swim past her in the frenzied waters. On the other side of town, she had glimpsed some type of enormous ship with purple sails before it had disappeared into a wall of mist.

_Impossible, why would there be a ship here? That can't be right, I must be seeing things._

Doubt about what she had seen had made her turn away, so she wouldn't see that bizarre image again.

Now that the flood waters were long gone, Silena went back into her apartment to see what was left of it. She shoved open her front door to see that everything in her living was gone. Her couch, TV, bookshelf with all her books and coffee table had all been swept away . The front window was completely smashed open, and Silena guessed the water had entered and exited there. A few dead fish who didn't escape with the waters were strewn all over the floor. She felt a tear run down her cheek as she thought of everything she had worked so hard for had disappeared with the waves.

Silena walked into the kitchen and found it in a similar state, same with the bathroom. What she found in the bedroom was entirely different.

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**So what did you think?? I hope you liked it and stay tuned for more (even though the next few chapters are short)**


	2. Chapter 2 stranger

**Okay, so second chapter. This one is longer than originally planned, because I combined chapters and completely rewrote one part. Also, I do not own anything abarat. Silena doesn't know his name yet, but I'm going to use it anyway. Italics are Silena's thoughts**

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**Chapter 2 : Stranger**

Silena strode into her bedroom expecting a similar disaster zone as the rest of her apartment. Instead, she went into shock. Lying there on the floor, in the middle of the room was a person. This just wasn't any normal person. He was heavily wounded, his skin was grey and fragments of glass was sticking up from his collar bone. He was wearing scraps of torn fabric from what looked like it could have once been fine robes and his mouth was heavily scarred. He looked like death himself. Silena backed out of the room slowly, while hyperventilating.

_ Think, Silena, think! Ooh, what should I do? There is some type of freaky thing in my room that doesn't look human!! Just calm down, calm down…First check if he /it is alive, then go from there._

Turning back into the room, she forced herself to look at him. Two minutes later she took a step toward the stranger, and another and another. Very slowly she crouched down and touched his hand. His skin was freezing cold, Silena thought he was dead except she looked up and saw him staring at her. Carrion's eyes were stormy grey and menacing but something about them was also saddening. He continued to stare and Silena gently pulled her hand away. "Um….." Silena said, feeling nervous, embarrassed and like a real dork.

"Where am I ?" carrion said in a weak whisper Silena could barely hear.

"Well…um…" Silena trailed off. He clearly wasn't from around here, what was she supposed to tell him? Silena again felt like a dork. Unfortunately, at that moment he closed his eyes and went back into unconsciousness.

_ Great, I don't even know his name, where he comes from or anything else about this guy. Should I help him?? He would probably die if I don't stop the bleeding. Hmm…..well, he is a person and I don't want to have to deal with a dead body in my place, somebody I could have saved, so here goes nothing._

Silena had been lucky enough to grab her first aid kit before the flood waters invaded and still and some soaking sheets in the closet. She brought them over and started ripping them into scraps. Afterwards, she looked him over. He had many deep cuts on his arms and two nasty, very deep slices right across his chest. Luckily nothing was broken. Silena felt slightly embarrassed as she cleaned his wounds and bandaged them. He never moved when she cleaned his injuries, which must have stung ferociously. When Silena was done, she took the last of the sheet scraps ,divided them into two, and lay them on the floor for "beds". _Stiff necks here we come_, Silena thought . Silena dragged Carrion, who was pretty heavy, onto the sheets and then lay down on her pile, exhausted, and instantly fell asleep.

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Silena dreamed of being in a small, single masted boat. The boat was in the middle of a fierce storm. Rain beat down on the deck and the wind rocked the vessel back and forth violently. The wheel of the boat had been broken in half and Silena was wrestling with it, trying to fight the storm. The wheel twisted and turned rapidly and Silena fell to the deck. When she stood up , she saw a women standing next to the broken wheel, letting it turn uncontrollably. She seemed unfazed by the rain as her black hair and clothes weren't even wet.

The woman's green eyes swept over Silena, showing no emotion. Finally she said "Why do you try to fight the storm when you know it is hopeless?"

"What do you mean?" Silena asked. This woman almost looked familiar.

"You try to save something when it is impossible," the woman yelled over the din of the storm. "Silena you will fai1"

"How do you know my name? Who are you anyway, telling me I will fail?" Silena asked.

The woman laughed and said, "I know you more than you think, and I am warning you about a lost cause."

"We aren't talking about the boat anymore, are we?" Silena wondered.

The woman said "obviously" and disappeared .

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Silena awoke with a start. For a few seconds she forgot where she was but then it all came back and Silena was puzzled.

_ What was she talking about, the stranger? Who was she anyway? Something about her seems wrong, should I trust her at all? What am I thinking, it was just a dream…._

Silena's thoughts were interrupted by a presence next to her. It was the stranger, he was awake again and staring at her. The stranger tried to sit up, but realising he was to weak, he lay back down again. He then asked Silena, "who are you and what hour am I on?"

"Well, I'm Silena," Silena said. "What do you mean by 'what hour am I on'?" he looked really annoyed when she had said the last part.

"Great, I'm in the Hereafter" Carrion spat, his voice dripping disgust. "I must leave immediately."

"Wait a sec, you're injured, you shouldn't leave yet. You can barely move" Silena insisted. "I don't even know your name."

Carrion sighed and said "It is none of your concern."

"Excuse me, I saved you, patched up your injuries, I have the right to know who you are!" Silena shouted. Carrion reached over and caught hold of Silena's neck. It must have been very painful for Carrion but he did it anyway despite his weak condition.

"_Now you listen_!" Carrion yelled menacingly. "Just because you stopped me from bleeding to death doesn't mean you can order me around. I owe you nothing. You're just some wretched girl from the hereafter, and the last one I encountered destroyed everything, why should you be much different?!" Carrion the let go of her and pushed her way. Silena crawled away from him and sat against the wall.

_ How could I have been so stupid, he's a dangerous psycho!__I can't believed I helped him! What was I thinking he would be like? Kind? Generous? Grateful? No way! I 'm out of here!_

Silena glanced back over at the stranger who had caused her so much trouble. He winced as he lowered himself back into a lying position.

_ He looks so sad and pitiful, what am I to do? I'm all he's got, he probably isn't even from this world! I am sure he'll be grateful later when he realises his mistake. I'll stay, I must._

Silena then dug through her first aid kit and found the small bottle of pain killers. She quickly set them down next to Carrion and backed away.

"Take two of those every four hours and the pain will lessen," Silena stated.

"Why do you still care?" Carrion growled.

"I hate to see anyone in pain, even you," Silena mumbled. She then turned away and walked out of her bedroom. Before she could leave, she heard the stranger call "My name is Christopher Carrion."

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**So there you have it, a nice long chapter. Hope you thought it was interesting, please review ;) **

**The next chapter should be out in about a week.**


	3. Chapter 3 Second Chance

**Sorry if this a little bit late, busy week.**

Chapter 3 Second Chance

Silena stopped dead in her tracks when she heard carrion say his name.

_Did he really just tell me his name after all that? Unbelievable! Well, better late than never ...I guess._

Silena went back into the bedroom and just stared at him. He stared back at her intensely. They just stared at each other for 5 minutes. Silena blushed, feeling stupid and realising this could probably go on forever. She broke the silence finally "I'm going to get some food" and she turned around and left.

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Silena exited her dilapidated apartment building and climbed over a heap of broken TV's, overturned furniture and other objects she had never seen before.

_Did this stuff even come from this world? It couldn't be. Maybe that ship I saw was real ,all the fishes and those weird objects. Could the sea have come from somewhere else, somewhere no one knows, another world out of sight?_

She continued on and finally reached town centre 20 minutes later. Once she was there she spotted a van with a sign painted in read 'Emergency supplies here'. A short, dopey looking man was handing out boxes. Silena walked over and received a box that contained a small pot and pan; twenty four water bottles, a few packs of instant noodles and three blankets. "More supplies will be available tomorrow between 10 and 3. Come back then," the man harshly said. Silena took her box and left.

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She walked back the way she had came in the coming twilight and wondered , _maybe I should find some clothes. _It sounded like a good idea to her even though it meant stealing. The residents wouldn't mind if they never knew, so she picked the large blue house on the left. Trying the door, she found it open and walked in. the house was wrecked, the carpets still soaking, and the furniture all missing. As she ascended the stairs, she realised she wasn't alone. Sitting on the landing was a teenaged girl of about 15, five years younger than Silena. Her tangled blonde was over all the place and her clothes were wrinkled and torn. "Is this your home?" Silena asked

"Y-yes" the girl whispered ,looking up. The girl seemed in shock, but still said "what are you doing here? Are you going to steal something?"

"Well, I just needed some dry clothes, but I'll leave now. Sorry for intruding" Silena turned around but was stopped when the girl stood up and grabbed for her hand.

"Please don't go!" the girl shouted. "You can take some of my things if you need them."

"I really shouldn't" Silena said, feeling bad.

"Please" the girl begged. "just take some things, I want to help"

"Okay, if you insist, I'll take only what I need" Silena replied.

"What's your name?" Silena said, as she picked out a few tops.

"It's Chelsea" Chelsea said.

"Where are your parents?" Silena asked.

"I'm not sure, I was visiting my friends house when…the flood came and after I came back here and they weren't here. They're gone." Chelsea explained with tears in her eyes. Silena wondered what she could say to this sensitive girl. She decided to reassure her as best she could.

"I'm sure your parents are just fine, they'll turn up soon."

"I guess you're right" Chelsea sighed.

Silena was then done for herself but thought of carrion and asked "Do you have any guys clothes?"

"Sure, my parents room is right down the hall" Chelsea said. Silena walked down to the end of the hall and picked out the largest clothes she could find. _Hmmm, what goes with grey, _she thought jokingly.

When she was done, Chelsea thanked her for coming, making her feel guilty but happy she could still help her.

"Do you want me to come over tomorrow?" Silena asked as she turned to leave. She wanted to check in with her to make sure she was alright.

"Yes please!" Chelsea squealed. " You should probably get going quickly now, it's almost dark and without electricity you might get lost."

"Well, thanks for the clothes, see you later" Silena called back as she jogged out of the front yard.

The sun had set and the stars were coming out once Silena saw her apartment. Checking her watch, she could barely make out '8:07 pm'. Then she saw a silver glow coming from her bedroom window. It was beautiful and graceful, flickering and shimmering like liquid, but it hung in the air and changed colour from white to silver and back again. _Is Carrion doing that? _She wondered. _Could it be something else? _Silena quickened her pace to a full out run, which was hard with the cumbersome box of supplies and clothes. She dashed up the stairs to her floor and fumbled with her keys. They jangled annoyingly in the silence, finally she got the door open and stepped into her apartment. She quickly dumped her box of supplies and soundlessly went to check on Carrion.

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**So, what do you think? Please leave some reviews and tell me what you liked and disliked. **


	4. Chapter 4 pieces

This is a really long chapter, enjoy :)

_**Chapter 4: Pieces**_

He was lying there, just as she had left him. Silena could barely see in the darkness, but could still tell he was asleep. Silena found herself exhausted and decided to save her questions for tomorrow. She went back into the living room and changed into some clean clothes, grabbed some water bottles and trudged back into her room. After all the drama of the day, she curled up on her pile of sheets and instantly let herself slip into the dream world.

Again Silena dreamt. She was sitting back on the single masted boat with the broken wheel from her previous dream. This time, though, the waters were calm and she could see millions of stars and a serene moon hanging above the waters. The scene was so beautiful it left Silena breathless. She didn't even notice the same woman from her previous dream standing right next to her. "Beautiful, isn't it?" the woman said, startling Silena from her trance of admiration. "Although, I always loved the sun, you were different."

"What do you mean?" Silena asked. "how am I different?"

"It's not my place to tell you." the woman simply said.

"So you prefer the sun over the stars and the moon? Why? The sun is harsh?" Silena was puzzled by this. The night had always been way better than the ordinary day. Everything boring happened in the day, work, school, normal stuff. However, at night, there was parties, dreaming and it was when mysterious and dangerous things happened.

"The night is saddening , that's all it's good for" the woman said harshly. " I am warning you for the last time, don't trust the darkness."

"Why should I trust _you_ ? What do _you_ know? I can make my own decisions!" Silena said defensively. She had always hated people who told you what to do, but never explained if you couldn't see why.

"Fine, if you want to die, then go ahead!" the woman shouted. After an angry silence she then said more calmly, "Please consider what I am saying, don't trust him, he will use you." what she said begged the question "Do you mean Carrion?", but before she could ask, the dream world faded and Silena woke up.

Silena awoke to the sun rising . She looked over at Carrion, to find him awake and staring at the sunrise. It seemed like he had never seen one of these before. Wherever he came from ,she guessed ,it might be entirely possible.

"Would you like something to eat?" Silena asked as her stomach started growling.

"Yes" Carrion said. He was starving.

"Be right back then, I hope you've had instant noodles before. It's all I have." Silena called back. Unfortunately, Carrion had not had noodles before.

Silena went into the kitchen and grabbed three packs of instant noodles and a water bottle. She then grabbed the pot she had been given yesterday, and checked if the gas was working. Thank god it was. While they were cooking, she found two bowls. She also found a fork and a spoon. _Hmm, I guess we'll have to share utensils, this will be interesting. _Silena was grossed out, but was able to put it out of her mind, since the noodles were finished and she carried them back to her room.

She passed the noodles to Carrion, who looked bemused when he saw them. They reminded him of his nightmares. He reluctantly scooped some up and twirled them on his fork. He then took his first mouthful and Silena was convinced he liked it. She decided it was probably the best time to ask him about his world.

"I was wondering…ummm…" Silena mumbled looking at her noodles. "Where do you come from?"

"If you must know …I come from the Abarat" He replied. "I do not wish to go into details now."

"That's okay," Silena said, trying to hide her disappointment, but she remembered the last time she had pushed him for information. She hoped he would ask her about something from this world, but after a few minutes he didn't say anything, so she decided to do something about it. "If you want to ask me something…ummm… feel free to." Silena said, feeling like a major dork.

"Well, I was hoping you could explain how the time here works, as it moves from day to night and then back to day" he asked.

"It doesn't do that in your world?" Silena asked, astonished. Did time run backwards? Was It always just the same time. She couldn't rap her head around it.

"No, time is a place," he said casually, as if it was normal.

"Amazing!" Silena exclaimed. She then remembered his initial question. Silena tried to answer it to the best of her abilities without sounding like she was explaining it to a child. "The earth is what is this world, it is a sphere. The earth rotates around the sun, every twenty four hours, when the part of the earth is facing toward the sun, it is day, when it is facing away from the sun, it is night," Silena tried to be as simple as possible.

Carrion was blown away by this concept and wanted to know as much as possible, but didn't want to ask to much, coming off as interested. He instead said, " Fascinating" calmly and almost uncaring. The room was then left in an uneasy silence. Silena slurped her noodles quietly, thinking of how she must of came off as an idiot. Carron was lost in thought about the information he had just received, trying to make sense of it.

Eventually, Silena needed to trade utensils. "Do you want a spoon?" she asked. Carrion offered her the fork and she also took her spoon. She thought she would leave the room for a minute and come back into the room, faking that she had traded utensils. It was another one of her ingenious plans that would minimize any awkwardness. Unfortunately, it didn't feel any less gross for Silena. She handed him the spoon and sat back down with her noodles. They both eventually finished and Silena asked, "Would you like a change of clothes?" He nodded and she left the room again. Silena was wondering why he seemed so distracted, was he always like that? She wished she knew more about him and this world he came from, no matter how strange or dangerous it may be.

Silena grabbed some clothes and returned to her room. Handing them over to Carrion she asked ," Will you need any help with those?" She instantly regretted that and prayed he would not say yes.

"No!" he shouted, sounding scandalized. "Just get out!" Silena quickly left, not wanting to see anything, even he needed her help later. After leaving her room, Silena had no clue what to do, there was nothing to entertain her in her empty house. Looking out her window, Silena felt the annoyance of boredom settle over her. It was still two hours before she could go and get more supplies.

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After about an hour, Silena was desperately bored, having examined all the junk outside her window and Carrion had not said anything . She decided it was time to leave. She went back into her room and found him sitting up in his usual spot. "I'm going to go and get more supplies, anything you need?" she said as she dropped a few water bottles within reaching distance of Carrion.

"Just close the curtains" he said, annoyed that he had been interrupted from his planning. Silena closed them and then left.

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Her first stop into town was Chelsea's home. She knocked on the door lightly and waited for an answer. A smiling Chelsea opened the door and cried, "Oh, Silena, I'm so glad to see you, guess what? My parents came back an hour ago, just like you said! Thanks so much,, you have to come and meet them."

"You don't need to thank me, and I really should get going." Silena mumbled awkwardly.

"It'll only take a second, come on!" she said as she pulled Silena inside. Sitting on in the floor in the living room, was an older version of Chelsea, the same blonde hair and large green eyes. Beside her was a man who had darker hair and brown, he barely looked like Chelsea at all. "This is my mom and dad," Chelsea said. She then turned to her parents, "This is the girl that helped me after the flood." Silena felt bad about these words, she hadn't really come to help, she had only come to help herself.

"Hello" said Chelsea's mother said. "Thank you for being there with our daughter after the flood, she can get a little panicked." This made Silena feel worse, how could they thank her like this?

"I have to go," Silena said guiltily.

"Why are you leaving so soon?" Chelsea asked, surprised.

"I need to get supplies" Silena stated.

"Let her go ,sweetie, she has some stuff to do," Chelsea's father said. Silena remembered when her father used to call her that, and she instantly felt sad. She hadn't seen him in two years, this was another reason to leave.

"Goodbye then, sorry you couldn't stay longer. If there is anything you ever need, just come by," Chelsea said.

"Bye" Silena mumbled and closed the front door. It was a bad start to the day. Silena felt guilty, even though she knew she shouldn't, she _had_ helped them out, but it didn't make her feel any better.

She turned the corner and caught sight of the same van as yesterday. There were about twenty people lined up in front of it, even though there was still forty five minutes before they could get anything. She went to the back of the line and sat down on a broken TV. In front of her was an old woman clutching a photo of a young man in his twenties, she looked like she had just been crying. Silena turned and looked the other way, feeling she was invading something private.

Silena waited and waited, and finally they started handing out supplies. It was twenty minutes later than they had said, those lazy slobs. She was three people away from being served when she heard shouting . A man and a woman near the back of the line were arguing loudly.

"Just stay in line , Bill!" the woman shouted.

"Don't tell me what to do, you crazy cow!" the man called Bill yelled back.

"That's it, I'm done, you get your own supplies! I've had enough of your shit!" the woman screamed. By now over half of the line was staring at the two of them, the other half was trying to ignore them. The woman got out of line and walked to the back. This woman seemed familiar to Silena. Had she seen her before, at the store she worked at? Silena got handed her supplies absently and decided she should help this woman, it was the least she could do.

"Hello," Silena greeted when she reached the woman. "I was wondering if you needed any help"

"Heard me arguing? I guess you couldn't miss it. I'm so sick of that man, for too long I have put up with his crap."

"So what's your name?" Silena said, wanting to change the subject

"I'm Melissa" Melissa said, "And you are?"

"I'm Silena" Silena replied

"Have I seen you before, Silena?" Melissa asked suddenly.

"I'm not sure. You know, I was thinking the same thing when I saw you." Silena explained. "Have you ever shopped at 'The biggest little boutique' in the Chickentown mall?"

"I guess I might have," Melissa reassured herself. This young girl almost reminded her of Candy, but she dismissed the thought. The two of them talked about normal life until they were at the front of the line and Melissa was given supplies.

Silena asked, "Would you like me to walk home with you?"

"Well, I was staying at a motel at the edge of town, but I do _not want to go back there" Melissa explained. "Maybe we can go back to my home."_

"Okay, have you been back there since the flood?" Silena asked.

"No, I've been putting it off, since some strange stuff happened their" Melissa said darkly.

"What do you mean?" Silena asked as they crossed the street.

"You'd think I was crazy, but a lot of people saw it too. But they'll probably deny it, say it was illusions or something like that, but it was real, all of it." Melissa told her. This got Silena interested, if something important had happened here, she needed to know.

"I won't laugh or think you're crazy, I saw some strange stuff during the flood as well. Please tell me."

"Fine, I'll tell you," Melissa began. "There were two ships. One was small, my daughter ,Candy, was on it. They were being chased by the other boat, a huge ship with purple sails. That ship really was the ship of the damned. Candy had finally come back after eight weeks, she was even going to stay…"Melissa trailed off.

"Where had she gone?" Silena asked, already knowing. She had been in the other world, the one Carrion had called the Abarat. What did he have to do with all this?

"She had been in the world across the sea that had invaded Chickentown, The Abarat," Melissa continued her story. "Anyway, Bill was being stupid, trying to get people to safety with a row boat. It wasn't painted red, so all the fish attacked it and it started to sink. Bill wouldn't get out, even when Candy jumped into his boat to try and get him out, the waste of space. That's when the war ship caught up with us, and a man who looked like death himself dragged her into the ship." Silena was amazed, was this Carrion? She was desperate to know what happened next.

"Please continue, what happened next?!" Silena demanded.

"You don't think I'm crazy?" Melissa wondered.

"Well, I think I saw that warship from the roof of my apartment," Silena said quickly to explain her interest to the story. She also remembered how she denied that ship's existence when she had first seen it. How wrong she had been when she thought it couldn't possibly be there.

"Oh" Melissa said. Why hadn't Silena just mentioned it earlier? She didn't ask though, just continued on with her story. "After Candy went into the ship, her friends from the Abarat went after her. They fought the monsters onboard, and eventually the ship sunk. Candy escaped and I was able to finally have her back" Melissa looked as if she were about to cry. "Then, something dragged her overboard and I haven't seen her since. I hope she's safe, whatever world she is in." They both rounded the corner and Melissa said, "that's it, number thirty four." The house she pointed to was midsized, nothing about it seemed particularly extraordinary as Silena walked though the drowned front yard. Melissa opened the front door and stepped inside. The lounge was empty except for an overturned couch. The kitchen was empty also.

Suddenly, Silena had an idea. "Do you have a picture of Candy I can see, I might have seen her at the boutique." Melissa put her box of supplies down and pulled out her wallet. She opened it to a picture of Candy and showed Silena.


	5. Chapter 5 Suprises

**Thanks to all the reviewers for giving their opinion :)**** This chapter may be a little depressing at first, but it gets into more action near the end. Another long chapter to satisfy all your fan needs. Word count : 2,847 You have been warned**

**Chapter 5 Surprises**

The girl Silena saw in the photo looked very similar to the woman in her dreams. She had the same hair and features. Only her eyes were different, they were mismatched, one green and one blue. Candy looked to be about sixteen, which was a few younger than the woman in her dreams. Could they possibly be sisters?

Obviously, Melissa could see the surprise on Silena's face because she asked, "What? So have you seen her before?" Silena quickly came up with a lie.

"I … I think I've seen her at the supermarket once or twice, but I'm not really sure." Melissa seemed to see through the fib, but didn't comment.

Changing the subject instead , she said, "Tell me about yourself"

"Umm.. okay?" Silena began reluctantly. The past hurt, but she would skip some of the details and shorten any explanations. "I grew up in Pelican Rapids"

"Oh, I've got some family out there" Melissa interrupted. She then seemed to notice she had interjected, "Sorry, continue"

"My mom and Dad worked as artists. They made a good living and we lived in a big house at the edge of town. It was beautiful, every evening I would watch the sun set above the prairie and all the stars come out. I had an assortment of pets; three mice, two parakeets, a cat and two dogs." Silena explained, getting lost in the story of her past. "I can still remember the last sunset I ever watched with my pets, before they were sold and I moved to Chickentown."

"Why did you move if you were so happy there?" Melissa asked. Silena didn't want to talk about this next chapter in her life, it was rather painful. Every time she revisited the memories tears welled in her eyes, which she felt now. However, Melissa seemed friendly enough, and trust worthy. Silena also remembered she had read something somewhere that if you didn't talk about painful experiences, it would slowly consume your life and you would either be left a emotional wreck or unable to feel at all. This was a chance to get some of the burden off, and since she usually lived alone, other chances wouldn't probably arise for a long time.

"My mother got sick," she choked out. " She had cancer, she died three months after she was diagnosed." Silena felt tears spilling down her cheeks.

"I'm so sorry" Melissa said as she came over to Silena and put a hand around her shoulders. "I shouldn't have asked, you don't have to tell me anything else"

"No, I need to get this off my chest!" Silena said harsher than she had meant. She apologized, "Sorry, I get over emotional when I talk about the past, but since I live alone I just need someone to listen. I shouldn't burden you with this depressing stuff though, you've already lost a lot and I'm just a stranger."

"It's okay, you need someone who'll understand. Please continue if it isn't too much for you." Melissa soothingly said.

"Alright…" Silena restarted. " My dad never painted after her death. He tried ,but would just stare at the canvas for hours, leaving it blank, or sometimes painting it completely black. I never fully understood his pain, and I despised him when he surprised me-on my birthday- that we were moving to Chickentown. We had to pack up everything, get rid of my pets and sell off a lot of my things. I was losing all that was left of mom: the memories and possessions. How could he have ever wanted to move to Chickentown? Did he think it would have been easier, losing what was left of our then happy lives? He tried to explain to me that this was where mom had lived before she had married him, but we had never even visited this town, there was nothing special here. In the end it was worse for us, we moved into a tiny apartment, and dad lost his job because he never painted. He turned to gambling and drinking, he became addicted to both, spending all his time at the casino. That never would have happened in Pelican Rapids, they didn't have a casino there. I had to get a part time job at 14 to help support us, but he gambled most of it anyway. I was thankful when I graduated and was able to work full time."

"Thank you for telling me, did it help you?" Melissa asked.

"Yes… but there is a little more," Silena recalled

"If you want to…"Melissa trailed off unsure of that was the right thing to say .She knew the pain of having a drunken man in the house , but it must have been even harder for Silena.

"Yes. I got into a big fight with him one day. I told him "Dad, I can't stand it any longer, you can't live your life this way" he got really mad at that. He told me I was worthless and should just get out. He had never said anything that horrid before, I didn't even recognize him any more. It hurt so much , feeling as though someone had killed my dad and replaced him with some mindless clone. So I took his advice and left, sleeping over at my friends houses and eventually saving up for an apartment. I had just got it too, and then the flood took it all away."

"What happened to him?" Melissa asked.

"I decided to visit him a month ago, to see if he was still around. He wasn't there, the apartment was empty and I asked around . I heard he moved to Minneapolis to be with some girlfriend he had picked up. It didn't sound true, but it was the only story I heard from the land lady and neighbours. I then tried to put him out of my mind, forget about him as much as possible. I didn't fail until today." Silena wiped her face of all the tears she had cried. She felt nothing could be worse than today, reliving all the pain over again. She felt better to be finished with it.

"Are you okay? Would you like something to eat?" Melissa asked, worried about this young girl. Today and yesterday had probably been traumatic for her, especially being all alone and barely grown up.

"Okay, I'll have something to eat" Silena replied. Melissa grabbed some noodles. The only thing that the dumb rescue aid had handed out. Silena was left alone in the living room and she looked out at the prairie beyond the house. Funny, how after all the years, the grasslands stayed the same. The day was warm and the air was sweet. The sun was shining down on the destroyed town and the atmosphere was surprisingly calm and quiet, considering all that had happened yesterday, today and all that was still to come.

* * *

Silena ate her noodles soundlessly, and then left number 34. "Be sure to visit if you ever need anything" Melissa called back from the front door as Silena made her way through the front yard.

"Thank you, and I will" Silena replied. She turned away and started her journey through the destruction. She retraced her steps back to town centre. The van handing out supplies from earlier had left and now a larger truck was parked in the same place. It was handing out bigger boxes to people. Silena didn't bother getting more, she was too tired and the line stretched for many blocks north, numbering over 200 at least. Every different type of Chickentowner ; young, old, rich, poor were standing in line, winding past piles of junk and holding possessions claimed from the flood. It also appeared that the Chickentown mall was being used as some type of makeshift refugee camp, a shelter where people could sleep and stay temporarily. Silena continued on past and headed into the east end toward home.

The sun was starting to slip down the sky in the direction of the west, as late afternoon set in and Silena arrived at her apartment. She entered and climbed the shabby stairs to the third floor. She fiddled with her keys and opened the door. Silena dumped her supplies in the living room and hoped her 'guest' was in a good mood. She had leaved him with 10 water bottles, but no food (he couldn't exactly get up and make noodles). Silena strode into the room to see Carrion sitting up, eyes glazed, deep in thought. The curtains were still closed from this morning, keeping the room in darkness. The air was stale in here, the window was closed, so Silena impulsively walked over to the window and opened it. Of course to open the window, she had to open the curtains, which let in light. Carrion instantly shouted ," close those immediately!"

"You could use some fresh air in this room" Silena said.

"I am perfectly fine" he said through gritted teeth.

"Sure, but I'm not. This gross air will give me a headache" Silena shot back.

"Just hurry up and close the curtains!" He growled, squinting against the light. She propped open the window and then sat down on her pile of sheets. Carrion went back to day dreaming. Silena sat there in silence, remembering there was something she wanted to ask him. Yes, now she remembered, about last night, what she had seen!

She reluctantly interrupted him, "I was just wondering, I saw something last night, it was light, coming from this room. Did you know what that was?" He turned to face her and gave her one his famous evil grins. She shivered at the sight of it, almost forgetting what she had asked.

Carrion saw her look of fear and felt better, that's what she deserved for interrupting him. He darkly said "I have no idea what you're talking about." He inwardly admitted he had been careless, but if a couple of people saw light in a window that didn't look normal, they probably wouldn't believe they had ever saw it. Fragile imaginations did that, he had lots of experience there.

Silena stared at him in horror, that scary smile sent chills down her spine, and her brain screamed danger. She tried to pull herself together, and try again. "You do know something" She forced out her voice calmly.

"Everybody knows something" he said teasingly. He was having fun playing games with her.

"That's not what I meant!" Silena said, annoyed. "You were doing something last night, and it wasn't normal."

"And what is your definition of normal?" He asked, flatly. The more she overreacted the more amusing.

"Stop it! Stop playing with me! You know something and you're just taking advantage of me for your pleasure! What type of person are you!?" Silena yelled at him angrily. She got up and ran out of the room.

* * *

Carrion sat on his pile of sheets-bored- which was not a feeling he ever felt. It had been an hour since his "host" had stormed out of the room. He couldn't get her angry little face out of his head, she had looked familiar, though he was sure they had never met. What the hell was she doing out there any way? Sitting around doing nothing like he was? Usually he never felt this type of curiosity toward anybody, except…her.

No, he mustn't think of her, the bringer of pain in his life. He cleared his mind and concentrated on battle plans he could eventually put into effect. He was interrupted by footsteps outside the room. Silena came around the corner; looking at him, she blushed.

Silena could feel the annoying heat on her cheeks when her eyes locked with his hard grey ones. "Are you ready to answer my question?" She asked in a small voice.

"Which one?" he asked back.

"The first one" Silena mumbled.

"Remind me" he said, his gaze even more piercing . Silena felt embarrassed and stupid, what was she supposed to say? Should she seriously answer him, and be made fun of? No, he couldn't just take advantage of her like that, it was sick.

"You're playing, I can't stand it. Why do you like that? Just making people feel small and useless."

"I can make them feel worse than that," He admitted, seeing Silena's eyes spark with anger and- surprisingly- curiosity. "What? Do you want to know what I do to people, turning their emotions against them in the worst ways?"

"No," Silena answered, revolted. Why did he think she would want to know that? " There was no reason to assume that I would like to know anything about…that." Carrion was unconvinced of her statement, and was beginning to think that this conversation was going nowhere. He decided to inject some information that would give her a shocked look and amuse him.

"Fine, you want to know what I was doing last night?"

"Of course!" Silena exclaimed. Why did he always have to be so difficult? Getting information was like trying to squeeze blood from a stone.

"Magic" he said flatly.

"What?" Silena was confused, surely there wasn't any magic in this world. Could it be that where he was from, the Abarat, that magic wasn't so extraordinary? What else could that light have been? In her gut it made sense. "So it was magic? That's amazing! Could you… show me some?"

This was not the reaction Carrion had been looking for, but he went with it. "No, I'm not in the mood and I doubt you could perform any healing spells."

"Healing spells? So that's what it was?" To Silena it made sense ,and she wanted to try. "Can I at least try it?"

"You don't know magic, you never even saw it performed until yesterday" He dismissively said. "You won't have magic ability, of that I am sure."

"Don't be so pessimistic, you never know. And the sooner you're healed the sooner you can be out of my hair" She hadn't meant to be so rude, but he was wearing her patience thin. "What do I say?"

"If it makes you feel any better. Just say "Alashia Rembria"." Carrion was not amused at her enthusiasm, it was childish. He couldn't wait to see the disappointment on her face when it didn't work.

"Fine, here goes nothing" Silena said, closing her eyes and concentrating on nothing but the words. Taking a deep breath, she said, "Alashia Rembria." Nothing happened.

"Told you. stupid girl, thinking you could…"Carrion's speech was interrupted by a blinding sliver light coming from Silena's hands. "Impossible" he said, shocked that this girl could do magic. Did all young girls in the Hereafter just randomly know magic?

The light was stronger and brighter than last night, and quickly filled half the room. It was hungry, pushing into the cracks in the plaster and through the closet door. It felt warm and comforting on Silena's skin, like just taken out of the dryer cotton. Seeming to finally find it's target, it drifted off toward Carrion, where it converged on his injuries. Silena suddenly felt dizzy as the light sealed off the first wound and started on the next one. She sat down on the floor, shutting her eyes to keep the light from burning into her retinas, as it got more and more intense. Unconsciousness was pulling on her mind, luring her into a relaxed state. No, she must fight it, the repercussions could be serious . She had no idea of what to do , since she had played with a fire which she had no clue how to control. Her energy continued to be sapped, and she felt like she would collapse any second. Lying down, she couldn't resist the urge any more. She was so tired, it almost hurt to move and breathe. This was a gamble, but fighting was to much. She let her head drop to the floor, hearing Carrion call her name and vaguely registering how strange it sounded, far off and clouded. Then sleep over took her, and she welcomed it eagerly.

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**Hoped you liked that chapter, leave a comment and read it again if you'd like. Please tell me what you thought of my dorky healing spell, it was all I could think of that sounded the best. Thanks again for all your support ;)**


	6. Chapter 6 unfortunate decision

**Sorry I have not updated in forever, no excuses that I can give you at all. First chapter in the new decade and in my fourteenth year( my b-day was 5 days ago ;****). So here you go, a nice action packed chapter just for you- word count 1,330. Thank you to all my fans~**

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Starlight chapter 6 - Unfortunate decision

Silena awoke with one of the worst headaches ever, but was happy to be alive and in all one piece. She looked up to see Carrion at the window, staring out at the night, just a line of pink-purple on the horizon and the rest all dark and light blues. Surprisingly, though he was completely healed, he was still here. Silena shakily stood up and stumbled over to him. He didn't seem to notice her presence, just looking peaceful and again lost in thought. _Honestly, he must have been a dunce in school, all he ever does is zone out! _Silena thought irritably. It was also a different type of dreaming, Silena noticed, sure he day dreamed but she hadn't seen it like this. At the moment she thought this, he came out of his trance. He was surprised he had not felt Silena's presence right beside him. That thought was soon forgotten because of her appearance.

The light from the twilight had lit up her eyes with a cool light, she almost looked like…no. Carrion wouldn't let himself think like that again. The resemblance seemed uncanny, but it wasn't possible, was it? _No, of course no, her soul was already in another. _He would not be distracted again.

By this time, they had been staring at each other for almost a full minute. Silena was entranced with the puzzlement on his face, but snapped herself out of it with a general question. "How are you?" she asked in a near whisper.

"Fine." Carrion knew he had to leave. This girl was just another reminder of something that had hurt him so much… and he couldn't make that mistake again. Yet before he left he had to ask, "How did you use magic? You're just some lowly girl from the hereafter." The last girl he had met from the hereafter had used magic, but that had been special circumstances. Surely no normal hereafter girls had magic. So how did he find yet another one?

"I have no idea how to use magic, it just…happened." Silena answered, thinking over her past, certain nothing like this had ever happened before. She had been so scared when she had blacked out, convinced that death would be waiting and she would never find out about this other world, when she was so close. Unfortunately, she had to make a decision, quite soon.

"Now that I am healed, I must leave." Carrion stated. He moved out into the hallway and to the front door.

Silena managed to get in his way and ask, "You're leaving so soon? But…"

"You must never mention me being here to any one." He said harshly, which stung Silena like a slap. "Don't follow me, you belong in this world"

She wanted to say something, but she didn't get a chance. He just pushed past her, and slammed the door behind him. She whispered "goodbye" too late, feeling strangely empty. It wasn't her business, but she knew without reason that she would never forget what had happened and regret not getting into a different world. Somewhere where her dreams could be real, instead of this place of broken memories and destroyed dreams. She felt a tear run down her cheek, too many tears had been shed here. No, she couldn't let this chance pass her by, never discovering what she could have been. She couldn't wait around, eating instant meals, hoping for the town to get back on it's feet sooner than later. What happened after that? Dead end job, hoping for a miracle to change her life? Well a miracle had just happened, and from what she knew, it was mostly a once in a lifetime experience. This was the chance she had been waiting for.

Silena ransacked her messed up closet for some sort of backpack. There, sitting on the second shelf was her old blue duffel bag. Silena had used it for sleepovers and for the bag she lived out of when she was kicked out. Now she grabbed it and shoved in some clothes, instant noodles and what was left of the water. She was packed and ready, exiting her apartment for the last time in a long while.

The street was lit up only by the starlight and a thin sliver of moonlight. She could see just a few blocks ahead of her, Carrion being no where in sight. Luckily, she remembered that the floodwaters had come form the north side of town, so Silena started cautiously in that direction. A few blocks later, Silena was catching her breath from jogging to try and catch up. She heard a noise that sounded like a glass bottle smashing, which prompted her to keep running hoping that whatever had made that noise would not show itself. Too bad she was wrong.

The town's limits were in sight when Silena tripped and fell. She scraped her knee and both elbows, letting out a small yelp. It seemed she had tripped over a broken chair she hadn't noticed in the darkness. She got to her feet, and while brushing herself off realised she wasn't alone. Standing in front of her were two boys . The older one was tall and scrawny, with dark brown hair and blood shot eyes obviously because he had been drinking. He was holding a beer bottle in one hand and a knife in the other. The younger one was short and heavy set, with blonde hair and an awkward expression. Silena gasped in shock at the sudden appearance of them.

The older kid broke the silence with a sharp tone, "Hey cutie, what's your name and whatcha doin out here?"

"Yeah," The younger one grinned "Dontcha know it isn't safe at this time of night?"

"Mind your own business, dumb ass!" Silena thought it would be the best to act tough against these two, but this just made it worse. These trashy kids were like loaded guns with the safety always off, no control. Unfortunately ,their target seemed to be Silena.

"Hot tempered thing, ain't she?" The older one asked the younger. "Perfect night to have some fun, how about it?"

The younger kid looked a little nervous, but still said ,"Alright, lets do it." They then started to advance on her, perverted smiles spreading across there faces.

"Get away form me you ass holes!" Silena yelled at them, knowing perfectly well what they intended to do. Backing up, Silena found she could go no further. Debris blocked her way, and she couldn't risk turning her back on these jerks to climb.

"You're not going any where." the younger one ordered with a sneer on his face . He raised his loaded gun right up to her and commanded "Don't move or I'll blow your head off."

"Don't do this, you don't have to," Silena pleaded, finally feeling helplessness sink in. She felt a cold shiver run up and down her spine, knowing this could be the end.

"Or what? No one is going to save" The older one jeered. Silena couldn't help but think, _you're wrong, _before the boy rushed up to her and pulled his knife. Silena screamed as loud as she could before she felt the ice cold tip of the knife placed to her throat.

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**So what did you think? Suspenseful enough? Be sure to comment and let me know what you think. Add it to your favourites if you really liked it, thanks again and I hope it satisfied you craving.**


	7. Chapter 7 Saviour?

**Sorry for the longer wait- before spring break teachers always cram everything in and I've been busy. Sorry it's rather short- the next one will be soon though- promise. Word count: 875**

**Starlight **

**Chapter 7 Saviour?**

Carrion heard Silena's scream from six blocks away. He took pleasure in it, but quickly remembered what she had looked like in the icy sunset light. Might it be that she was actually in trouble? What did he care, she was just some stupid human that happened to take care of him for a space of a day. That's what servants did and he never treated them kindly. _Just forget her, _he told himself. Why did she remind him so? The one who had destroyed everything, practically ripping his heart out. Yet, this Silena had accepted him better than Boa ever had, in the space of only two days.

Looking back toward the south, Carrion had made the decision. The blind loyalty could be useful at least. He wouldn't let himself be tempted by her. If he ever was, he promised himself he would dump her off in a heart beat.

* * *

Silena stood completely still when she felt the tip of the blade reach her throat. Although she knew only one person could save her, the hope she had was being sapped as the seconds ticked by. She began to think of other means of help. Chickentowners seemed to be an option, but then again they apparently loved chickens more than people and wouldn't risk coming out without power in town. Her two friends could have helped if only they had not been on the other side of town. She had no choice but to hope on the one person who was the least likely to care about anyone except himself- Would he?

"**S**earch her bag" her captor interrupted her thoughts. The younger one went through her meagre belongings and found nothing of value. Silena was completely frustrated at this point and just wanted to give this guy a good punch.

"Alright" her captor said as he pushed her away and pulled the knife back. She stumbled, but was on her feet quickly, her throat burning where the knife had left a shallow cut. "Take your clothes off" the older one said, taking a step toward her with the knife.

'No way!" Silena yelled, hoping someone would maybe hear.

"Do it or I'll shoot" the younger shouted nervously. He obviously didn't want death on his conscious. Silena decided to use this.

"I don't believe you would kill me" Silena taunted. This seemed like to much for him to handle. Instead of shooting her, he pointed the gun on the ground and shot out the entire clip.

"You idiot!" the older one shouted at his companion. Silena took this moment of distraction to take action. She ran at him, quickly kicking him in the groin and backing away. He fell over in pain. The younger kid then rushed Silena and punched her in the face. Silena felt her knees buckle and she sank to the ground, tasting blood. The punch was probably going to leave an ugly bruise, it stung like nothing Silena had ever felt before. The pain was not over though, as both kids had now started to kick her. She curled into a ball to protect herself, starting to cry and feeling completely alone in the universe. Then she heard the words through the fog of pain and hopelessness.

"There's always fear in people who hurt the weak" the shadow voice interrupted the little torture show. "Except maybe me." The punks stopped kicking and turned to face the intruder who still remained out of sight. "Judging from the two of you, I'm sure there is plenty to go around." Carrion finally emerged from the darkness and an evil grin spread across his face as he saw the boys expressions turn from anger to fear.

They didn't even move when he strode over to them and simply touched both of them. They had obviously been frozen with fear already, but once touched they both fell to the ground, screaming horribly like little girls. Silena saw this an looked on in horror as the pair were sobbing and begging for death. Silena tore her eyes off them and looked up at Carrion, who was watching with pleasure clearly visible on his face as the fear he had given them tore them apart.

Eventually, both lay still in the night air, having died one of the worst deaths imaginable. Silena just stared on in shock, having never seen any one die, never mind like this. Her gaze then again turned to Carrion, wondering what could turn someone into something so monstrous, she was disgusted.

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**So did you enjoy it? I hope you will leave a comment on what you liked and didn't like. If you like it, feel free to add it to your favourites ;)**


	8. Chapter 8 Rejected

**Sorry for the amazingly long wait, my dog died two weeks ago and then I got one huge project dumped on me followed by another smaller one , so there has been no time to update. The word count sits at 929**

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Starlight

Chapter 8 Rejected

Christopher Carrion was very pleased by the fact that he could still use fear as a weapon without the help of nightmares. He turned back to Silena, registering the look of shock. The frailness and weakness of her expression was enough to make him laugh, though he didn't. He simply held her gaze, waiting for her to look away. Instead she continued staring waiting for him to say something, anything to explain what justified him killing those two. Carrion couldn't waste anymore time, he would have to kill her, she had seen to much and apparently snapped. Yet could he bring himself to do it?

Silena broke his train of thought, "why did you do that?" her voice coming out weaker than intended.

"Did you prefer to die?" The statement sprung Silena out of the trap of disbelief.

"You… murdered them! You never had to kill them, they were foolish yes, but not deserving of death!" With that she ran over to him, intending to strike back perhaps in the heat of the moment, but got too close. With a quick and powerful blow, Silena was sent flying into the fence of the nearest house, some six feet away. The impact left her breathless and feeling as if she were going to pass out as black spots in her vision made seeing difficult.

While in this compromised state, The Lord of Midnight strode up to her and spat in her face, "You got what you deserved, you ungrateful imbecile! Don't try and follow me, or you'll be worse than dead." His piercing eyes seemed to drill right into her head, making her break eye contact. After giving her one of his infamous smiles, he swiftly departed down the alley, heading north. Silena felt so unappreciated and defeated that she started sobbing, lying on the pavement gasping for air. Slowly, the emotion was sapped away after several minutes of emotional overload and Silena was left dry eyed and numb to any feeling.

Looking up at the stars, she thought of everything that had happened in the last couple of hours, finding out all the things she had could never dream of knowing about herself. Why did this have end now in this horrid way she would never revisit because of the pain that it had caused her? The pain in her ribs made breathing laboured, and she guessed that they may be bruised, or worse. With some wincing, Silena lifted herself off the ground and propped up against the fence. Getting home would take several hours in this condition, but the edge of town was only a couple of blocks away, not more than 15 min even with the injuries. Was she actually considering this last ditch effort to get into the Abarat? Pushing herself off the fence, Silena thought up the crazy plan that could actually work.

* * *

Carrion walked onto where the road became the endless sea of prairie. How could that stupid girl have been so angry at him for saving her? Who did she even think she was? These questions plagued Carrion as he found the right spot to begin summoning the Izabella.

Silena stumbled down Lincoln street, using the sides of waterlogged homes to support herself. It took all her will power to keep from quitting, just collapsing and letting sleep overtake her sore and tired body. But would she wake if she let sleep come over her? This question made the fear that kept Silena going along the dark and abandoned road onto the prairie. At the end of the asphalt, Silena spotted Carrion and could tell he was doing something that required immense concentration. To avoid his lethal attention, she sunk down to her hands and knees and proceeded to crawl closer. Arriving at about a hundred yard safe distance, Silena sensed a change in the winds, a sudden cooler breeze coming from the north that carried a smell that she couldn't place. A salty, smell that suddenly took a powerful hold over her, something she hadn't smelt in a long time, a scent left over from a childhood long gone.

Peeking over the grass, she could just make out blue and then heard a rushing sound, like a wave. Like the ocean tide coming in, but how could that be in prairie? Of course, the same sea that entered Chickentown two days ago! It was getting hard for Silena to think straight. Her lids were extremely heavy, sleep promising to end the pain with dreams of the hot showers. But no, she must go on, the sea was in her grasp, so to speak. She continued her pitiful crawling for another twenty yards, and then couldn't take it anymore. With a final desperate sigh, Silena slipped into a welcoming sleep, knowing she was destined only to dream of the Abarat, never to see it.

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**A little short, but full of brutal action, thank you for reading and I hope you fave if you like it and review anything you wish me to know :)**


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